ABC Technology and Games Portal

14 December 2009 James Cameron's Avatar: The Game

HEXJames Cameron's movie epic 'Avatar' has been released alongside a game of the same name - however, don't write this one off as 'just another rush-release movie game' just yet. Cameron's vision for the movie came four-and-a-half years prior to its release - which left plenty of time for game development. So - he teamed up with Ubisoft to see what they could come up with in an attempt to break the 'bad movie game' stigma.

BAJOUbisoft has written its own script, creating new characters, weapons, and vehicles to tell its own story within this universe. The game doesn't actually take place during the time frame of the movie - instead, you play as a human 'Signals Specialist' soldier pushing in on the homeworld of the indigenous Na'vi - playing out a series of events that happen prior to what you'll see in the film.

HEXit's a third-person shooter that combines alien landscapes with the futuristic technology of the human military. Your first mission sees you running around the jungle fending-off waves of 'viperwolves' - which - dare I say it, are slightly reminiscent of -

BAJONo, don't say it--

HEXSKAGS.

BAJOArgh!

HEXBut I was really keen to just get stuck into some blue-skinned Avatar action and play as a Na'vi. Thankfully, it wasn't long before I was placed into my 'Avatar' and I could do just that. You're sent on an undercover mission to find and kill a 'mole' informant - but then are faced with the choice to either side with the Na'vi and help fight the invasion - or return to the humans to help take the Na'vi down. So I guess this is the 'moral' choice we are seeing in so many games of late.

BAJOI don't know if I'd really say it's a 'moral' choice, so much as a 'I like the blue guys' or 'I like guns'. It doesn't really force you to choose between good and evil.

HEXBut clearly siding with the Na'vi and defending their homeworld from invasion is the 'right' thing to do, here.

BAJOIn Avatar the choice you make determines which race you'll play as - and as a result will also determine the kinds of weapons you have at your disposal, the missions you'll go on - and of course your overall objective in the game.

HEXWell, I chose to side with the Na'vi - I do like exploring the non-human alternative... Most alien creatures are less inclined to attack you once you become 'one with the forest', and - while you still have a couple of machine guns at your disposal, your new, native arsenal of heavily powered cross-bows, knives and clubs are what you'll have the most fun exploring.

BAJOWell, I chose to side with the humans and clear those pesky blue-skinned beasts off the moon of Pandora - which left me playing a more of a tech-oriented shooter - so if you're a fan of military gun-strategy as opposed to, I guess... fantasy-adventure gameplay, you'll want to take the human option as well.

HEXThey really got creative with the terrain though, didn't they?

BAJOOh sure. But you know what the only thing more boring than fighting skag-like creatures is? Fighting plants. SHOOTING PLANTS IS LAME. Plus: it's obvious they've really gone to a lot of trouble to create this really incredible alien environment - but you fall a few feet off a log or a rock and you take a whole bunch of damage. It just seemed stupid.

HEXI agree, it's as though you build up a kind of generalized judgment of how far you can safely fall in most games and for some reason in this one you're punished for even the smallest drops. I wouldn't know about deadly plants, though, Baj - as a Na'vi - the forest was my friend.

BAJOYou also get a whole separate set of skills to aid you in combat - like, sonic blasts, rapid-dashes, slowing down time - and working this into your combat can be quite fun. What I really missed though was some form of lock-on or zoom-to-aim function. In a shooter this is a really basic tool that I really struggled without - it made combat seem more than just clumsy - instead of taking precise shots at enemies - I felt like I was just madly waving a stick around.

HEXYeah, I may have been firing more arrows than bullets - but I could have used that zoom-function as well. I kept hoping it would come from an upgrade or something, but it never happened. What really annoyed me though, was - after discovering all my cool abilities as a Na'vi - I was keen to see your game footage to see what the alternative skills you got as a trooper. But all the skills were exactly the same - they just renamed them with stupid military names, like - the'kinetic dash' became 'RDA elite training' - I mean, what a cop-out!

BAJOYeah, that was pretty lame. I did get to fly around in some pretty intense aircrafts like the dragon gunships , but one thing that did make me jealous of your decision to play as a Na'vi, though - was that you got to ride actual dragons!

HEXYup. That was pretty cool - and looked amazing, though - there were a few silly places where I'd fly and get stuck, and it looked like my 'Ikran' would get caught fighting against an invisible wall in the sky. Not to mention when flying into a battlezone, I'd find a place to land, and it was really temperamental. Sometimes it would let me land - other times it wouldn't - I had guys shooting at me and it was REALLY annoying. Its problems like this which will ruin that entire game mechanic for me.

BAJOThe game looks phenomenal, and like the film it has a huge production value - so the lush, alien forest areas you're fighting in are really impressive. They have had plenty of time to get this game on track so it's annoying that there are still frustrating problem areas disrupting gameplay.

HEXMost of your missions as a Na'vi will involve taking out human bases and furthering your bonding with Na'vi culture and the forest. From the human perspective you'll obviously be doing the opposite.

BAJOWe didn't get to try out the multi-player on the version we had, but from what we understand, there will be five game play modes: including popular favourites like 'capture the flag' and 'king of the hill' - and you can choose to play as either human or Na'vi here as well.

HEXThe game is being release across platforms - on 360, PS3, PC and the Wii - although we've recently discovered that the Wii version is apparently is a completely different game altogether, so it's a shame we didn't have the time to review that version as well. But - Baj, let's talk about the 3D for a second.

BAJOLike the movie it's based on, Avatar is a fully 3D game. It's one of the first major releases to use stereoscopic technology - unfortunately you need to have a tv that's compatible or you'll have to settle for 2D - but it's still visually incredible so the game doesn't rely on it.

HEXI struggle with 3D, Baj, I think it's definitely a case of personal preference, but I find that if anything is going to give me motion sickness - this will. Maybe I'm just not ready for it yet, but I preferred playing in 2D. I have no doubt a lot of people will love the 3D aspect, though.

BAJOI enjoyed it, it adds to the visual epicness and it's not too gimmicky. It works.

HEXWell, from the campaign I played, I think Avatar is a pretty great game - my hat goes off to James Cameron for really wanting to combat the 'bad movie game stigma', I found it a bit weird that I was going up against machine guns with a bow and arrow but it worked. I'm giving it 8 / 10 rubber chickens.

BAJOThe game looks brilliant, but I really hated the combat in the human campaign that I played - it's a shame because it could have been so much more. Maybe I'd have had more fun if I'd played through your side of things, but I'm afraid it still gets a bad-movie-game stamp from me. I'm giving it 6.5.

3497 :

14 May 2014 8:57:20pm

Rating:
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thatch-monster :

Blu :

krajji :

04 Oct 2013 8:26:15pm

Rating:
Such a disappointing game. It looks gorgeous, but it had such weak gameplay. Now I'm a sucker for flying mounts so I would've liked more opportunities with the flying but that's my personal opinion. Also, what's with the lack of boss in the end? I also felt it was really short. I started it in the afternoon and finished it the next morning (sleeping including). Overall its an ok game but I would say to not expect much